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Volunteers Help Farm Thrive

CRIDERSVILLE — In the Equestrian Therapy Program at Fassett Farm, a child with autism can learn confidence and a woman with multiple sclerosis can regain her ability to walk, and volunteers drive the farm’s ability to serve riders in a more than 10-county radius.

The Equestrian Therapy Program at Fassett Farm, located northwest of Cridersville, welcomed a new group of volunteers Saturday morning, training them on how to help riders achieve the best experience they can. Equestrian Therapy Program Volunteer and Program Coordinator Sarah Potts said volunteers are essential to the success of the program.

“We have about 230 volunteers who cycle through the program a year,” Potts said. “It takes about 10 to 15 volunteers to have a class for riders. This program does not work without volunteers.”

Most classes offered in the Equestrian Therapy Program have five riders, and two to three volunteers work individually with the rider in addition to the class instructor.

In addition to the group classes, the program also offers one-on-one classes, also ran by volunteers.

“Hippotherapy, which is a one-on-one therapy session with the rider, uses the movement of the horse,” Potts said.

A horse’s movements, she said, provide numerous benefits for the riders.

“There’s a lot of movement taking place,” she said. “The horse is providing a three-dimensional movement and is stimulating the rider’s muscles as if they are moving themselves.”

When a horse walks, she said, it produces more than 100 different movements, stimulating the rider’s muscles and mimicking walking, even if the riders cannot walk on their own.

In classes, volunteers and instructors encourage the rider to “sit tall.”

“Sitting tall lengthens the spine and strengthens your back muscles to hold you,” Potts said. “The taller you sit, the more rotation you get in your hips … We’re stimulating all those muscles.”

In addition to the physical benefits they receive through the Equestrian Therapy Program, riders also learn self-confidence and communication skills. Potts said riders must tell the horse to “walk on” or “whoa.”

“We have that communication, whether it is saying ‘walk on’ or signing ‘walk on,’” Potts said, noting the children in the program learn the benefits of communication through telling their horse to “walk on” or “whoa” and seeing the horse start or stop. “The whole progression of riding has a therapeutic benefit.”

Volunteers in Saturday’s training program learned their way around Fassett Farm and learned how to ensure the safety of the rider throughout the class. At the end of the session, volunteers were able to sign up for classes that fit into their schedules.

Starting this week and running through Nov. 10, classes are held at 10 a.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, from 8:15 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., at 10:30 a.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday and at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., from 10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

More volunteers are welcome to join, and anyone interested in volunteering for the Equestrian Therapy Program can contact Potts at 419-657-2700 or e-mail her at sarah@etpfarm.org. For more information about the Equestrian Therapy Program, visit Etpfarm.org.